Lockdown
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: An unknown problem at the ARC puts Jess in a life threatening situation.


When Jess pulled up into the ARC that morning she was a little bit confused and intrigued to find most of the staff standing outside. She couldn't make it even close to the parking garage because of the line of cars blocking her path. She parked behind the last car in line and hopped out, walking over to where Matt, Emily, Connor and Abby were standing together. Once she was near enough she heard a grunt and a loud bang and jumped to see where the noise was coming from only to discover Becker ramming his shoulder into an apparently locked door. She winced at the frustration and determination and just the hint of a cringe on his face as he hit the door over and over again.

"What's going on?" Jess asked the group.

"We're not sure." Abby answered. "It was on lockdown when we got here. One of the creatures may have escaped."

The whole group cringed as Becker hit the door especially hard.

"I don't think he realizes that door is supposed to keep a couple ton creature from getting through it." Matt mused.

Becker let out a long sigh and gave up, rubbing his sore shoulder as he came back to the group. "It was worth a shot." He remarked.

"We told you it wouldn't work mate." Matt responded and Becker shot him a look.

"I had to try something. We can't just _stand_ here."

"I'm surprised you didn't try shooting it." Shot Matt, a hint of sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Oh that's a bloody brilliant idea, Matt, but incase you've forgotten the weapons are also _inside._"

"You mean you don't keep an extra gun under your front seat?" Matt asked mockingly.

Becker huffed and crossed his arms firmly over his chest, narrowing his eyes in a stern glare. "Very funny."

Matt smirked. "I thought so."

Becker let one arm fall to his side while the other raised to point a threatening finger at Matt. "Listen, at least I tried to do something. If you're so smart what do you propose we do to get inside?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I honestly have no idea but bruising your shoulder isn't gonna get us anywhere."

"My shoulder is fine."

"Clearly."

Becker opened his mouth to reply when Abby stepped forward, cutting him off with a sharp, "Oi!" Both men shut their mouths at Abby's sharp cry and she frowned heavily at both of them. "Look, for whatever the reason the ARC is on lockdown and we're trapped out here and I'm sure I'm not the only who doesn't want to hear you two squabbling."

Matt and Becker continued to glare silently at each other until Becker finally broke the stare with a roll of his eyes and crossed his arms back over his chest, taking a few steps away from Matt.

"Thank you." Abby sighed and moved back to her place beside Connor.

An awkward silence fell then upon the group, neither one of them knowing what to do or what to say. Around them the other staff chattered on frantically, wondering what had caused the lockdown and how and when they were going to get back in.

"So does this mean we have the day off?" Jess' small voice eventually chimed. It wasn't like she was searching for a day off, she quite liked her job but she did have a few things that needed to be done around her flat.

"Doubt it." Matt answered. "Who knows where Lester is but I don't think he'd be very keen on us buggering off."

"Well we can't exactly work out here." Jess responded. "I mean, I have my laptop," She shifted her laptop case that hung over her shoulder, "But there's only so much I can do."

"Yeah." Connor agreed. "All my equipment is in my lab. I'm sort of useless out here."

"Same." Abby nodded with a sigh and plopped herself down on the near by sidewalk, resting her face in her hands. "I think all we can do is wait until somebody gets the ARC out of lockdown."

"Brilliant." Becker huffed and collapsed against the wall behind him. "What the hell are we supposed to do until then?"

"We could play a game." Connor offered, smiling helpfully until the other five people turned to him in unison with matching 'you've got to be kidding me' faces. "Or not..." He sunk slowly to the ground beside Abby and blew out a puff of air between his lips. "I guess..." He started after a few more moments of silence. "That like Abby said we wait until it goes off Lockdown and hope that no anomalies pop-" He was suddenly interrupted by the shrill beeping of the smaller anomaly detector which rested in Abby's bag. "-up."

Matt and Becker instantly cast a look of distaste at Connor as if by mentioning the word he had jinxed one to appear. Becker took himself off the wall and approached Abby who had dug the detector out of her bag. "Where is it?"

Abby shook her head, glaring down at the beeping object. "It's hard to say. This one can't pinpoint coordinates like that."

Jess, who was now seated on the ground, her legs tucked comfortably under her, was clicking away furiously on the laptop which she had set in front of her. "I installed the basic program on my laptop, it won't be as nearly as accurate as the ADD but it'll at least give us a general idea of where it is."

Connor hopped up and ran over to stand lean over Jess' shoulder observing Jess' work on the laptop, his brow shooting up in shock and awe. "That's bloody brilliant, Jess."

Jess smirked smugly. "I know."

The others one by one made their way over to crowd around Jess and her laptop, waiting for the mini-computer to spit out the results. A range of several different coordinates read out on the screen and Matt was quick to recognize them, "That's Epping Forest. We have to get over there."

"And do what," Connor spoke up, "Strangle any creatures that come through with our bare hands?"

"If it comes to it, yeah." Matt shrugged.

Connor scoffed. "Please tell me you're joking."

"We're not even sure if a creature has come through and we have to get there and lock the anomaly before it does."

Jess smiled, glancing up from her laptop. "I'm up for it. I've never been on a field mission before, might be fun."

"No." Becker's stern, authoritative voice broke through the air catching their attention. "No. Absolutely not. We have no weapons and I refuse to let her anywhere near an anomaly without proper defenses."

Jess bit down on her lip softly, averting her gaze and ducking her head to hide the blush that coated her cheeks. Abby brought her fist to her mouth to cover a snicker and a smirk, Emily smiled knowingly, Connor snickered quietly to himself and Matt just raised an amused brow.

Matt cleared his throat and glanced teasingly at the head of security. "..._her?_"

Becker dead panned. "I-I mean us. You. All of you. I refuse to let any of you go near an anomaly without any weapons."

With a smirk and a shake of his head, Matt walked over to Becker and clapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry mate, we've gotta do this."

"It's my job to protect you." Becker snapped, glaring at Matt. "And I will do so by any means necessary."

"Yes and its our job to find the anomalies and lock them before a ravenous creature slips out and kills who knows how many people." Matt retorted. "We're going Becker and you're welcome to join us."

He released Becker's shoulder from his firm grip and started to walk towards his truck without another word, Becker glaring at his retreating form. He sighed in exasperation when the others, including Jess, got up and followed him. "You all are rightly insane!"

"Makes life interesting." Abby threw a wink over her shoulder towards the Captain.

"Wait a minute," Connor paused, making the others stop as well. "Don't we have that Emergency shed behind the building? I'm pretty sure its stocked with guns."

Becker's face visibly lit up at the mention of firearms. "Yes, of course!" He gave Connor a satisfied nod and a praise of, "Good work, Connor," before running off to retrieve said firearms.

Connor smirked, "Well-"

Minutes later Becker returned not only with the guns but with several of his men all now armed with the weapons. "Alright," He went into full on military commander mode as he addressed the team, "We're going to take mine and Matt's trucks just so we have back up transportation. Matt, you take Emily, Daniels, McGorman, Smith and Lancer. Connor and Abby, you're with me."

Jess frowned at the lack of her name being mentioned. "What about me?" She protested.

Becker turned to her, his mouth opening and then closing and then opening again. "Jess...I really don't think..."

"I'm not gonna just sit here all by myself, Becker!" She huffed and clutched her laptop further to her body. "I'm coming whether you like it or not. Besides, you might need me." She sniffed matter of factly and started towards Becker's truck.

"That's what the coms are for!" He claimed, calling after her.

She simply stuck her tongue out at him past her shoulder and pulled open the back seat to his truck and hopped in.

Becker groaned and rolled his eyes, realizing he had lost that battle. He turned and spotted the rest of his team watching him intently, all with knowing smirks and he snapped his features into a glare. "What are you all staring at? We have an anomaly to lock." He glanced over his shoulder at the men standing behind him and motioned his head forward. "Let's go men."

The men assigned to ride with Matt followed him to his truck and the rest, along with Connor and Abby followed Becker to his. Becker packed the firearms into his trunk and then slid into the drivers seat, peeking into the rearview to mirror to see Jess. She was sitting contentedly with her laptop rested on her lap and staring out the window, a pretty little smile on her face as if she were going to see her favorite film instead of dead into a potentially life threatening situation. He sighed quietly, waited for his men to enter the vehicle and for Matt to patch into the coms before starting the truck.

"_Anomaly still in the same place Jess?" _Matt asked.

"Let me check." She opened her laptop, waited for the scan to complete and then nodded, bringing her hand up to the com in her ear. "Same coordinates." She confirmed.

"_Great, thanks._"

Becker and Matt maneuvered their way out of the parked cars around them and drove out of the ARC, heading in the direction of the Epping forest.

Approximately thirty minutes later they arrived at the forest, Abby using the smaller detector to steer them in the right direction. They found an old dirt road that drove through the woods and drove until the road came to a stop, having then to continue the rest of the way on foot.

Becker was the first one out of the car and swooped around, grabbing his back door and holding it closed before Jess could open it. She rolled down her window and he was met with an annoyed ( but adorable, though he'd never say that aloud) glare.

"Jess, _please_, stay in the car." He leaned against the window frame, unknowingly giving her the intense stare that never failed to make her weak at the knees. She blinked, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart and once she got a hold of herself, nodded and sat back, releasing the door handle. "Alright, fine."

His lips twitched in a small smile of gratitude and he nodded to her before walking around to the other side of the truck.

Jess sighed and glanced back down at her laptop, pursing her lips, wondering if there was anyway to get the coordinates more specific.

"Percy!" Becker called to a blond man, just grabbing his gun from Becker's trunk and Percy jogged over to him, nodding respectfully. "Captain?"

"I want you to remain here and guard this vehicle with your life, is that clear?"

Out of the corner of his eye Percy spotted the petite brunette still sitting in the back seat of Becker's truck and he nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good man." He clapped Percy on the shoulder and walked passed him to grab his own weapon from his trunk. He glanced around to make sure every member of his team was equipped and then closed the trunk.

He started to make his way over to where they all stood, only pausing to take one more look at Jess. She was staring out the window longingly, a frown on her delicate features.

"Jess," He called to her and she slowly turned to look at him. "You're safer in there." He explained.

She smiled tightly and nodded, waving them off. "Yeah, yeah. Go have fun chasing your dinosaur."

He cocked his gun and looked over to his team, who seemed to have gotten impatient and was already being led into the woods by Matt. He sighed, exasperated, and started to run after them.

"And keep your windows closed!" He ordered as a last thought before disappearing into the woods.

"Windows closed, got it." She muttered to herself, turning back to her laptop and clicking away furiously.

After several very long minutes of getting no where with narrowing down the proper coordinates of the anomaly, she slid her laptop onto the seat next to her and rested her head back against the seat, pressing her finger to her ear to speak into the coms.

"Have you found it yet?"

"_Not yet." _Matt answered back. _"Connor and Abby went off separately since we're not getting a clear indication on where the anomaly is coming from. Connor, Abby, anything?" _

" '_fraid not, Matt." _Abby's voice responded. _"Though the signal is getting a little stronger, I think we might be getting closer." _

"Right." Jess sighed. "Just let me know if you find anything."

"_Will do." _

Perhaps she shouldn't have come after all, Jess mused. At least if she was back at the ARC she'd have the other staff members to talk to. Being here she was trapped in the car all by herself and it wasn't like there was any internet so she could do some more online shopping.

She leaned against the door and peered out the window, her gaze landing on the blond man in black standing in front of the car, his gun secure in his hands. She lifted her arms to rest against the open window and addressed the man. "You really don't have to stand here and do this you know."

"Captain's orders, miss." Percy responded dutifully.

"And everyone listens to Becker..." She sighed quietly, moved her laptop out of the way and fell back onto the seat, staring up at the ceiling.

Before she knew what was happening her eyes started to flutter closed and she was drifting in and out of a light sleep until she was jolted awake by Matt's voice in her ear.

"_Guys? We haven't found the anomaly yet but there are some strange tracks that don't look like anything I've ever seen. Keep an eye out for a creature." _

"_Right." "Got it." _The team replied back and Jess pushed herself back up into a sitting position.

She cast her gaze out the window and into the greenery of the woods, letting her mind wander. Though she would have preferred to be with her team, the time she was given alone did give her the opportunity to think quietly which she hadn't been able to do for a while.

But as usual, her thoughts immediately drifted to the one thing, or more specifically the one person it always did. The one person who she wanted to be annoyed with for ordering her to stay behind and put a guard on detail to watch her. But she never could stay mad at him for long, not when she pictured his handsome face with those gorgeous, captivating brown eyes, and those lips that rarely ever got teased with a smile and she so badly dreamed of kissing, and that hair that she wished she could run her fingers through and that voice that she ached to hear whispering in her ear...

"_Jess?" _

She stifled a gasp at Becker's voice suddenly ringing in her ears. She caught her breath, brought a hand up to her ear and cleared her throat before answering sweetly, "Becker? Is there a problem?"

"_Just checking in. No trouble?" _

"Everything's fine, Becker. Don't worry."

"_I'm not worried."_ He protested vehemently.

She rolled her eyes. "'Course you're not, you're just checking in because its your duty." She didn't bother trying to hide the blatant sarcasm in her voice or keep the smile on her face out of her voice.

"_Goodbye Jessica." _

She giggled to herself and released the ear piece, settling back into the seat a pleased little smile on her face. She knew Becker cared about the welfare of his team and not only because it was his job. Though she wondered (more like hoped) if maybe he cared about her just a bit more...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden very low but distinct growl. She whipped her head towards the window, her eyes wide and held her breath. She inched over to the window and poked her head out, turning to look at Percy. "Did you hear that?"

The man's back was tense and his face hard and stern as he turned to face her. "I don't think its anything to worry about. One of the local animals, I suppose."

Jess bit her lip and sunk back into the car. She had heard local animals and that didn't sound anything like a local animal. That sounded huge and like something with enormously large teeth. She let out a breath and finally rolled up the window as per Becker's request. She inched back to the center of the car and bringing her knees up to her chest, slowly scanning the forest through the windows.

She gasped when another growl pierced the air, this time it was louder and sounded a lot closer. Her heart started to race in her chest and though she tried to keep her breathing under control, short, quick pants escaped her nose as her eyes continued to dart around her.

She carefully, slowly, cautiously reached over to the window and opened it a crack. "Percy...?" She called out hesitantly.

She saw him slowly approach her window and his voice was low as he spoke. "Close the window and get down." He instructed.

Her heart leapt and she immediately obeyed him shutting the window and pressing herself down into the seat, closing her eyes and wishing she was back at the ARC. Now she knew exactly why she didn't do field work...

She waited, holding her breath for as long as possible, and then taking quick breaths to fill her lungs, and she listened. She heard the wind whistling and the leaves rustling, she heard the crunch of Percy's footsteps against the ground, and more footsteps...no...they weren't footsteps...they were bigger than footsteps they were...

She stifled another gasp and a scream as she heard a very loud growl followed by several gunshots. She shook against her seat, her eyes wide and her fingers in between her teeth to keep herself from screaming. She heard Percy yelp and the clatter of metal hitting the ground and then it was silent.

Eerily silent.

She lay there motionless for a few good moments before she slowly poked her head up to glance out the window.

A squeak escaped her throat at the sight of what remained of Percy strewn across the fauna and next to it, a beast, what looked like a very huge bear.

Jess whimpered quietly and sunk back down to the seat, closing her eyes and bringing a shaky hand up to her ear. "Be-Becker?"

His response was almost instantaneous. _"Jess? What's wrong?" _

"It's here, Becker." She whispered. "The creature...it's here and it killed Percy. It's right outside the car..."

"_Jess, don't move." _Becker ordered urgently, his voice slightly wobbly from clearly already being on the run towards her. _"Stay as low as possible and do not move until I get there." _ She was silent, paralyzed with fear and his voice became more urgent. _"Jessica, do you hear me?"_

"Y-yes." She whimpered. "Becker...please hurry."

"_I'm coming, Jess." _

She did as he instructed and crawled into the floor space between the front and back seats, curling up in the fetal position and daring herself to watch the windows. She held her breath as she saw the beast looming just outside, sniffing the air, his large teeth glimmering in the sunlight. It snarled, baring its full jaws and then fell forward onto all fours and moved out of her sight.

She swallowed over the giant lump in her throat and kept silent, fear gripping at her bones. She finally closed her eyes and started chanting the name of the man she loved. _Becker, Becker, Becker, Becker, Becker, Becker, Becker. _

She repeated the mantra again and again, hoping that her knight in black uniform would come leaping to her rescue, slaying the beast that threatened her life and sweeping her off her feet to safety.

Her eyes flew open when the car suddenly rattled and creaked and she slowly lifted her head to see the beast pressing its snout up against the window closest to her. She held back a squeak and pressed further into herself, chanting Becker's name harder and faster.

The beast let out a roar and its giant front paws came crashing down onto the side of the car and she finally let out the scream that was building up. Panicking, she leapt off the floor and onto the seat, scurrying away from that side of the car where the beast was now in full view and standing up on its hind legs to once again attempt to break into the car.

Her hand flew to her ear as she pressed herself up against the opposite door. "BECKER!" She cried helplessly into the coms and another scream left her throat as the beast came crashing down on the car. "Becker!"

Racing through the brush and wood as fast as his feet could possibly take him, Captain Becker pushed himself even harder at the sound of her distress calls. Matt and Emily followed close behind him, confused and slightly panicked at Becker's sudden departure.

"_Becker! He's right here! He's on top of the car he's-"_ Jess' voice was suddenly cut off by a blood curdling scream that not only echoed in his ear piece but through the woods itself.

Becker gritted his teeth and pushed passed the burning in his calves and thighs and ran through the woods so fast his vision became blurry and he wasn't even sure he was on the right path.

Behind him, he distantly heard Matt and Emily's cries for him but he ignored them, his sole focus on getting to Jess and getting to Jess _now._

Finally, he reached the area where the dirt trail had stopped and he skidded to a halt, his legs and lungs burning and his heart leaping high into his throat.

He panted heavily staring at where his truck used to be parked but now was just a giant heap of scrap metal that resembled a once-been truck.

"Jess." His voice shook as he stared at the heap that was once his truck. His fists curled at his sides and his jaw quivered, his panting growing harder and longer and he gripped his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white. _"JESSICA!" _His mournful, agonizing cry echoed through the trees and he ran at his truck, grabbing the handle of the smashed in door and pulling at it as hard as he could.

He clenched his jaw tightly, so hard if he had cared about anything but Jess, he would have been afraid his teeth would crack and a growl rumbled in his chest as he pulled and yanked at the door but it wouldn't budge.

Only when the handle came flying off with his efforts did he resort to another tactic of ramming his body into the door, the already damaged metal screeching and crying under the weight of his body and muscular force.

Behind him, Matt and Emily came running into the small clearing and Emily gasped at the sight of the more than totaled vehicle, her hand flying to her mouth as she watched Becker jump and slam his body into the metal.

"Oh my god." Matt muttered past his panting, noticing what it took Becker only a moment more to notice himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Becker spotted something that had him freeze, made his blood run cold and his stomach lurch painfully. A trail of bright red blood marking the dirt leading from the junk of his truck, down the path and disappearing into the woods.

He stepped away from the car, slowly, agonizingly making his way towards the blood trail. He paused halfway, shaking his head slowly, his face crinkling in utter despair.

"No." He whispered hotly, staring angrily at the blood on the ground. "No!" He raised his voice to a screech, a plea, a cry. He stumbled backwards still staring at the ground in front of him and with an angry cry, grabbed the gun that hung around his torso and sent it flying through the air. He turned and kicked the heap of metal as hard as he could, sending the bumper that was only hanging by a thread crashing to the ground. He then collapsed against it with a whimper, his body shuddering. "Jess."

Emily had turned into Matt's shoulder, hiding her vision from the unraveling Becker. Matt wrapped his arms around her, keeping her pressed tightly against him, burying his nose in her hair all the while keeping a watchful eye on his friend.

Abby and Connor broke through the brush a little ways to the right of Matt and Emily. They observed the surroundings, Emily turned into Matt, a crumpled Becker against his destroyed truck and the trail of blood leading away from it and they didn't have to guess what had happened.

Abby slapped her hand over her mouth and mirrored Emily's actions, turning into Connor's side who unconsciously slipped his arm around her to hold her to him, his face a picture of pure shock and horror.

"Becker..." A voice, an angel's voice, suddenly spoke his name and his back tensed.

"Becker." The voice repeated and he lifted his head and through his slightly blurred vision he saw her. Frazzled, frightened and a little torn up but alive. Oh so alive.

His Jess.

He pushed himself off the metal and took a few steps towards her, stopped and glanced at his teammates to make sure he wasn't seeing things. They all were staring at where Jess stood in the middle of the road and his heart leapt.

In a split second he was racing towards her, his boots kicking up the dirt and leaves behind him and then a mere five seconds later she was in his arms. Her small body pressed against his and he held her as tightly as possible, somewhere deep in his mind aware that she was hurt, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Her arms surrounded him weakly and he felt her nuzzle her nose into his chest, taking a shuddering breath and letting out a little cry of a mixture of pain and relief.

He kept his face buried in her shoulder until he could scarcely breathe and then he lifted his head, tenderly kissed her shoulder, the side of her face, moving up to her forehead and released her only for a split second to get a better grip on her and pulled her against him, tucking her head underneath his chin where it fit like a perfect piece of a puzzle. "God Jess," He whispered against her hair, "I thought...I thought you were...I thought I had..."

Jess buried her head further into his chest and sniffled. "It's okay." Her voice was weak and shaky. "I'm here...I'm here...I'm alive..."

He buried his nose into her hair, closing his eyes and inhaled her scent. He was alarmed to not only find the faint scent of her shampoo, the smell of dirt but also the unmistakeable smell of blood. He opened his eyes and lifted his head spotting the small amount of blood clotted and drying into a spot on the back of her head. "Jess...?"

His arms loosened around her and he grabbed her gently by the shoulders pulling her back to get a good look at her.

She struggled for a moment to get her head up and then she smiled weakly, her eyes glassy.

"Hi Becker..." She mumbled, her words slurring before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed forward into Becker's strong arms, her world fading to black.

* * *

><p>Jess awoke to a bright light and a massive, splitting headache. She squinted and groaned, waiting for the light to dim and hoping the headache would disappear with it. When her vision finally came to she found herself in a hospital room, her leg suspended in air by a sling hung from the ceiling and a cast around her ankle.<p>

She blinked and shook her head slowly, instantly regretting it soon afterwards for her headache increased with a sharp shooting pain. She groaned again and closed her eyes, resting back against the soft pillow though that did nothing to calm the party in her head.

She suddenly felt a warm and slightly calloused hand cover hers and a warmth spread through her entire body. Even in her weakened and pained state she knew only one person could give her such a reaction with just a single touch.

Her eyes fluttered opened and her gaze fell on the concerned face of Captain Becker. His hair was mussed, he looked exhausted with light bags under his eyes and sweat and dirt scattered around his face. Still, she couldn't help but smile, it was weak but it was a smile and she grabbed his thumb and squeezed it gently. "Hey." She murmured.

"Hey you." His tone was lighter than she'd ever heard it before and it made her smile widen just that bit more. Then the smile slowly faded away and her face scrunched up in confusion. "What happened? Why do I feel like I was hit by a bus?"

She was going for humor but it did not have the intended effect and Becker's face hardened into a frown. "You were attacked by the creature that came out of the anomaly." He bowed his head and expression she'd never really seen before crossed his face, one of guilt and anguish. "I'm sorry Jess, I'm so sorry."

"Hey," She slid her hand out from under his and moved it on top, rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand. "It's not your fault..."

"I should have been there to protect you." He answered through gritted teeth.

"Becker," She whispered, her sweet voice coaxing him to look up at her, "You're not superman or God, you can't do everything and be everywhere all at once."

Becker shook his head, averting his eyes once again. The guilt and the blame he was putting himself through broke Jess' heart and very carefully she shifted her position to be closer to him. She reached out her hand and gently placed it on the side of his face, lifting his eyes to meet hers. "Captain Hilary Becker, you are my hero."

His eyes shut and for the second before they closed she could have sworn she saw the brown orbs glistening. He lifted himself out of the chair and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against hers gently and she was grateful for his light touch, though she knew she definitely wouldn't have minded the pain in her head knowing Becker was so close.

"I almost lost you, Jess." His voice was hushed and his hot breath ghosting across the skin of her face sent tingles down her spine.

Her hand, which still rested on the side of his face, brought him closer so their noses touched. "You didn't though. I'm here. I'm alright."

He rested his hand down on the bed beside her to support himself and knowing that was trapped against the bed by Becker's body was a fantastic feeling.

"I don't know what I would have done." He continued slowly, hesitantly and Jess' heart leapt wondering if he was finally going to open up and confess what she'd always dreamed of hearing. "Honestly Jess, I really don't. Those few minutes when I thought you were dead...they were the worst few minutes of my life."

"Oh Becker..." She whispered soothingly, _finally _running her hands into his hair, gently rubbing the tips of her fingers against his scalp.

"I've been such a coward." His whispered words were barely audible but their close proximity allowed her to hear him perfectly. "There's so much I'm able to do without questioning including giving my life to save any one of you. But talking to you..." He finally lifted his head off of hers and their eyes met and her breath caught at seeing his face so close to hers, his lips twitching in a small smirk. "How can someone so tiny be so terrifying."

Her brow lifted skeptically. "You think I'm terrifying? Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Well its simple really..." He mused. "Facing a dinosaur or another creature is easy because all it wants to do is eat me and all I want to do is kill it. _You_ are terrifying, Jess, because you make me feel."

Her eyes widened and she suddenly really hated the heart monitor monitoring her increasing heart beat. "F-feel? Feel how?"

He smiled, a rare, true Becker smile and wordlessly leaned forward, catching her lips in a sweet kiss. Jess froze but only for a moment and then she eagerly, but weakly returned his kiss.

He kept the kiss short and sweet but his lips still hovered near hers after they parted and if she hadn't been listening she might have missed his soft spoken confession, "I love you Jess Parker."

The words processed in her brain, still suffering from the after effects from the concussion, and then she smiled, grabbing Becker down for another kiss.

Becker was sure he was gentle with her especially while she was in her weakened state so their kisses remained chaste and they only parted when they heard Abby's voice.

"Well its about time."

They both turned their head in the direction of the voice and spotted not only Abby but Connor, Matt, Emily and even Lester hovering in the doorway.

Jess' cheeks flushed and Becker cleared his throat as he sat back, awkwardly avoiding the gaze of the team. Jess waved them in and they all made their way in both Abby and Emily holding some flowers.

"We bought you these." Emily explained handing them over to Jess. "Abby mentioned they were your favorite."

"Yes." Jess' face brightened as she collected the bouquet from both Abby and Emily, sniffed the bright colored flowers and then placed the bundles on the side table. "Thank you."

She glanced over to the group and smiled at seeing Connor nudging their boss to say something. Lester glared at the younger man for a moment and then turned to Jess, folding his hands behind him. "Miss Parker, I'm glad to see you awake."

With only a little bit of struggling Jess pushed herself up into a better sitting position and opened her arms towards Lester. Lester quickly glanced around at the people in the room, scrunched up his face, clearly arguing with himself and then shook his head and walked into Jess' open arms.

Jess grinned and squeezed her arms around his shoulders, placed a nice kiss on his cheek and then settled back into her bed. "Thank you, Lester."

He nodded awkwardly and took a few steps back to his former position next to Connor.

"How do you feel Jess?" Abby asked softly, perching herself on the edge of Jess' bed and covering Jess' hand with her own.

"Oh," Jess shrugged, "I think despite the killer headache, I feel..." Her eyes tilted upward in thought and then drifted over to where Becker sat watching her and she smiled warmly. "...wonderful."

Subtly, Becker's hand slid across the mattress to intwine his fingers with hers and he squeezed her hand lightly.

"Yes." She affirmed. "Definitely wonderful."


End file.
